This past month, we have seen a national election in our own country, an ongoing crisis in the East China Sea, the conflict between Israel and Gaza, unfolding information about the murder of a U.S. ambassador, and scandal in our own national security community. Our nation continues to face many challenges from abroad, few of which are easy to address.

Here at The Institute of World Politics, we believe that this country is worth protecting. The founding principles of America which our students study have resulted in extraordinary freedom and prosperity.

But our system of government also allows for rapid political turnover, and this, as Winston Churchill explained, makes it difficult for our leaders to conduct a consistent foreign policy for any more than five years at a time. This, to a large extent, is a challenge for strategic thinking - where the truly long-term national interest can be pursued regardless of which party controls the executive branch.

When IWP student Nicholas received an email from Jason Johnsrud, Vice President for Student Affairs, about an opportunity to participate in a language immersion program abroad, he immediately got on board. "There are things you can't learn inside the classroom," Nicholas remarks.